CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.0 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

In the evolution of political science, it has become an established fact that the state exists

to secure man’s life, his liberties and his estate. The state achieves this goal through the

establishment and maintenance of public works and certain institutions all of which are

committed to providing for man the best life possible. Thus, in measuring the functionality of a

state and its government, the most important criteria will be how effectively it responds to the

needs and by extension, the extent to which it has improved the lives of its citizens. (Agagu,

2020).

The intricate relationship which exists between the functionality of government, effective

governance and efficient public administration is what describe democracy. This is so because

the Nigerian state, 54 years after attaining self-rule can only be described by corruption, poverty,

unemployment, inflation, decay of infrastructure, insecurity, ethno-religious upheavals, injustice

and inaccessibility of citizens to basic necessities of life. So much so that it has been described

by some scholars as a “truculent African tragedy” (Ayittey, 2016) and that in the midst of

abundant human, mineral and other natural resources the citizens are still unable to access basic

social and civil facilities has compelled yet others to refer outright to Nigeria as a “failed state.”

In view of the aforementioned White, (2020), said that it is important to measure how

effective the public administration sector of this country has performed up to expectation. It is

however true that the poor functionality of any government is in part due to poor governance and

poor public administration.

 Nigeria as a sovereign democratic state has many bodies that are involved in the running

of the administration and affairs of the country. Among these is the legislature, which is charged

with the responsibility of making laws for the entire country. The body comprises the Senate and

the House Representatives at the National level. The Senate as the upper-chamber has three

representatives from each of the thirty-six states (36) and one from the Federal Capital Territory

(FCT). The second chamber is called the House of Representatives, which comprises of

members from each state of the federation (White, 2020)

The second body is the Judiciary; which is charged with the tasks of interpretation of

laws and settlement of disputes. The last body is the Executive that is charged with the execution

of governmental policies. The Executive is headed by the President at the Federal level,

Governor at the State level and Chairman at the Local level. The Nigeria Public Service is a

branch of the executive. It is charged with the responsibility of helping the government in

promoting good governance.

The above organs comprise of both men and women who are paid personnel to maintain

the government as a “going concern”. They constitute the machinery through which the

government of modern state realize its objective and fulfils its obligations towards its citizen.

However, the influence of public administration is not debatable; it is definitely a major force in

today’s governance.

In developing societies, the challenges of development and stability of polity depends in a

great deal on the efficient, effective, mobile, and accountable public administration system.

There is no contention that good democratic governance remains the most attractive option in the

provision of social services, ensuring fairness and accountability. (Natufe, 2006). It also creates
impetus for national development which makes all these dividends of good governance. Good

governance with its value system can engineer meaningful development to human society. In

achieving this, the public administration must provide the machinery and acts as a spring-board

for such democratic dividends.

The notion of good governance started to be used when, in the mid-1980s, the World

Bank studied the conditions of success and failure of adjustment programs (comparative study

contrasting success in East Asia with greater difficulties in Sub-Saharan Africa). During this

period, international support was conditioned upon 'good governance,' related to the functioning

of state structures, and to the states role in the market and relationship to civil society. Good

governance is firstly and above all the responsible use of power. The concept of good

governance has been measured, studied and defined by numerous agents, international

organisations and academics around the world, who have developed an array of theories as well

as multiple and diverse standards for outlining what constitutes good governance. In many policy

papers and concept notes, governance has normative values attached. In its most objective form,

the quality of governance may be "measured in terms of how well the various actors handle the

rules that make up the basic dimensions of the political regime." Many of the criteria for

assessing governance are subjective, making it difficult to clearly delineate and understand 'good'

and 'bad' practices.

Public administration reform and good governance continue to be key priorities under the

political criteria. The overriding principles are transparency, accountability and effectiveness in

the public administration. Adequate horizontal administrative procedures concerning human

resource management and public financial management are crucial for the implementation of the

reforms. The public administration must have the capacity to provide citizens and enterprises
with quality public services, where possible through the use of ICT (e-government).E-

government has indeed the potential of improving the quality of public services while cutting the

costs in the public administration

Therefore, the relationship between the public administration system and good

governance must be symbiotic as well as complementary for the overall survival of the polity. In

fact, public administration contribution is crucial to the very survival, consolidation, stability and

development of good governance in the society in general. The collaborative role of the public

administration in good governance rest largely on the institutional machinery of government like

the civil service, defence forces, diplomatic services, the legislature, regulative commission and

so on. One could add that it also promotes transparency and accountability in the administration.

By putting fundamental public services on line you'll reduce the risks for corruption. When we

refer to the elements of ‟goodness‟‟ we have to think about components like Government

effectiveness: the quality of public services, the quality of the civil service and the degree of its

independence from political pressures, the quality of policy formulation and implementation, and

the credibility of the governments commitment to such policies. Regulatory quality: the ability of

the government to formulate and implement sound policies and regulations, which permit and

promote private sector development. Rule of law: the extent to which agents have confidence in

and abide by the rules of society, and in particular the quality of contract enforcement, the police,

and the courts, a well as the likelihood of crime and violence. Control of corruption: the extent to

which public power is exercised for private gain, including both petty and grand forms of

corruption, as well as 'capture' of the state by elites and private interests. The most common

actions towards the adoption of good governance practices and principles are the reform of the
civil service, the improvement of policymaking procedures, the promotion of transparency

including initiatives, and decentralisation

These institutions are set up to ensure the smooth working of the various components that

make up the state. There is no gainsaying the fact that the future growth and development of a

nation depends on the strength and ability of the public administration to develop a science and a

philosophy of administration competent to discharge social goods and towards good governance

in developing societies (Stone, 2018)

Good governance requires all concerned to be clear about the functions of governance

and their own roles and responsibilities and those of others, and to behave in ways that are

consistent with those roles. Being clear about ones own role, and how it relates to that of others,

increases the chance of performing the role well. Clarity about roles also helps all stakeholders to

understand how the governance system works and who is accountable for what. In order to direct

strategy and ensure that this is implemented and that the organisation achieves its goals, the

governing body has to: allocate resources and monitor organisational and executive performance,

delegate to management, oversee the appointment and contractual arrangements for senior

executives, and make sure that effective management arrangements are in place, understand and

manage risk.

Good governance is the basic principle of our efforts to strengthen public administrations

in partnership with our clients/citizens. This implies that public administrations shall

continuously change and develop to a more open, transparent, accountable, equitable, cost-

effective and responsive form of governance. Public administration through good governance

must be providing services in strengthening institutions, capacity building measures, stakeholder

involvement and decentralisation processes. Yet, no one-size-fits-all formula was ever plausible.

Indeed, the idea of an “administrative culture” is often evoked, only further emphasizing how

difficult it is to achieve reform in this particular field. A successful reform process can only be

individually tailored to each separate administration although universal principles do exist.

Public administration is probably as old as human civilization, but the development of

Public Administration as a discipline and academic subject is of fairly recent origin. These facts

underpin research in and the development of Public Administration in the era of modern

management. Administrators have been necessary to humankind for as long as kings and

emperors have required pages, treasurers, and architects to carry out the business of government.

Evidence of basic administrative functions can be traced back to the early inhabitants of ancient

Mesopotamia, who developed agricultural systems to ensure their survival. It is widely accepted

that administration can be found wherever two or more people take joint action to achieve a

common objective, which implies that administration is present in all spheres of human activity.

Traditionally, the study of Public Administration examined the administrative activities

required to govern and the administrative need to give effect to public policies. Various

developments in history have had a marked effect on the delimitation of the public sector and the

role of governmental institutions in serving society. Giving effect to or implementing

government policies implies the authoritative allocation of values and resources through a

political system to individuals in society, and a purposive course of action followed by an actor

or set of actors in dealing with a problem or matter of concern.

In functional terms, public administration involves the process of rule application that is

the process through which general social rules are converted into specific observable decisions to
better the lives of the people (Agagu, 2020). In essence, public administration is the totality of

how progress and development are made in the society through proper administration and good

governance. The administration of the Nigeria government is very crucuial to the attainment of

good governance in Nigeria which will promote democracy. Thus this project is set to see how

public administration in Nigeria has helped in increasing good governance and promoting

democracy in Nigeria political system.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The public administration is everything and the most important catalyst of development,

is an efficient service while at the same time its inefficiency constitutes the heaviest milestones

of any nation. Despite the fact that the public administration is an executive arm of government

which helps in promoting good governance, its role and impacts are not generally felt in Nigeria

democratic system (Ejiafor, 2003)

This public administration has been lacking transparency, rule of law, accountability,

efficiency and effectiveness in its mode of operation and politicization of its activities. The

administration provided by the public servants have deteriorated as a result of corruption and

lackadaisical attitude that pervade the organizations. This research work tends to unveil the

undermining factors affecting the role of public administration in promoting good governance

and proffer solutions to it.

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The objectives of this study are as follows:

1. To know the roles of public service in promoting good governance in Nigeria

 2. To present the impact of good governance in promoting democracy in Nigeria

3. To present the significant functions of public administration in promoting good

governance in Nigeria

4. To know the factors militating against the efficiency and effectiveness of the public

administration in promoting good governance in Nigeria

1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. What is the roles of public administration in promoting good governance in Nigeria

2. What are the impact of good governance in promoting democracy in Nigeria

3. What are the significant functions of public administration in promoting good governance

in Nigeria

4. What are the factors militating against the efficiency and effectiveness of the public

administration in promoting good governance in Nigeria

1.5 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The study will contain data on the concept of public administration, the role of public

administration in promoting good governance and how good governance is a function of

democracy.

The study will also include factors that militate against good governance and how it affect

democracy in Nigeria. The study will also present ways for effective public administration in

Nigeria.
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

At the completion of the study, it will be of benefit to the government of Nigeria in knowing how

effective public relations can help promote good governance and help facilitate democracy.

It will also be of importance to the masses in knowing and understanding the role of the public

administration of the country and how to evaluate their performance.

Those in public administration will also find this paper useful as it will help them understand

their role in the attaining of good governance and democracy in Nigeria.

1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS

DEMOCRACY: This is a way of governing which depends on the will of the people.

GOVERNANCE: Governance" means: the process of decision-making and the process by

which decisions are implemented (or not implemented).

GOOD GOVERNANCE: It is participatory, consensus oriented, accountable, transparent,

responsive, effective and efficient, equitable and inclusive and follows the rule of law. It assures

that corruption is minimized, the views of minorities are taken into account and that the voices of

the most vulnerable in society are heard in decision-making.

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION: Public Administration is the discipline that studies and

analyses the organisation of government policies and programmes as well as the behaviour of

public officials (who in most cases throughout the world are not elected) (Fessler 2009).
 CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
CONCEPT OF GOOD GOVERNANCE
The concept of "governance" is not new. It is as old as human civilization. Simply put

"governance" means: the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are

implemented (or not implemented). Governance can be used in several contexts such as

corporate governance, international governance, national governance and local governance.

Since governance is the process of decision making and the process by which decisions

are implemented, an analysis of governance focuses on the formal and informal actors involved

in decision-making and implementing the decisions made and the formal and informal structures

that have been set in place to arrive at and implement the decision.

Government is one of the actors in governance. Other actors involved in governance vary

depending on the level of government that is under discussion. In rural areas, for example, other

actors may include influential land lords, associations of peasant farmers, cooperatives, NGOs,

research institutes, religious leaders, finance institutions political parties, the military etc.

The situation in urban areas is much more complex. Figure 1 provides the interconnections

between actors involved in urban governance. At the national level, in addition to the above

actors, media, lobbyists, international donors, multi-national corporations, etc. may play a role in

decision making or in influencing the decision-making process.

All actors other than government and the military are grouped together as part of the "civil

society." In some countries in addition to the civil society, organized crime syndicates also

influence decision-making, particularly in urban areas and at the national level. Similarly formal

government structures are one means by which decisions are arrived at and implemented. At the

national level, informal decision-making structures, such as "kitchen cabinets" or informal

advisors may exist. In urban areas, organized crime syndicates such as the "land Mafia" may

influence decision-making. In some rural areas locally powerful families may make or influence

decision-making. Such, informal decision-making is often the result of corrupt practices or leads

to corrupt practices.

Good governance has 8 major characteristics. It is participatory, consensus oriented, accountable,

transparent, responsive, effective and efficient, equitable and inclusive and follows the rule of

law. It assures that corruption is minimized, the views of minorities are taken into account and

that the voices of the most vulnerable in society are heard in decision-making. It is also

responsive to the present and future needs of society. The following are the aspect of good

governance. Participation: Participation by both men and women is a key cornerstone of good

governance.

Participation could be either direct or through legitimate intermediate institutions or

representatives. It is important to point out that representative democracy does not necessarily

mean that the concerns of the most vulnerable in society would be taken into consideration in

decision making. Participation needs to be informed and organized. This means freedom of

association and expression on the one hand and an organized civil society on the other hand.
Rule of law: Good governance requires fair legal frameworks that are enforced impartially. It

also requires full protection of human rights, particularly those of minorities. Impartial

enforcement of laws requires an independent judiciary and an impartial and incorruptible police

force.

Transparency: Transparency means that decisions taken and their enforcement are done in a

manner that follows rules and regulations. It also means that information is freely available and

directly accessible to those who will be affected by such decisions and their enforcement. It also

means that enough information is provided and that it is provided in easily understandable forms

and media.

Responsiveness: Good governance requires that institutions and processes try to serve all

stakeholders within a reasonable timeframe. institutional stakeholders who is accountable to

whom varies depending on whether decisions or actions taken are internal or external to an

organization or institution. In general an organization or an institution is accountable to those

who will be affected by its decisions or actions. Accountability cannot be enforced without

transparency and the rule of law.

ROLE OF GOOD GOVERNANCE IN DEMOCRACY

Good governance means performing effectively in clearly defined functions and roles: Good

governance requires all concerned to be clear about the functions of governance and their own

roles and responsibilities and those of others, and to behave in ways that are consistent with

those roles. Being clear about ones own role, and how it relates to that of others, increases the

chance of performing the role well. Clarity about roles also helps all stakeholders to understand

how the governance system works and who is accountable for what. In order to direct strategy
and ensure that this is implemented and that the organisation achieves its goals, the governing

body has to: allocate resources and monitor organisational and executive performance, delegate

to management, oversee the appointment and contractual arrangements for senior executives, and

make sure that effective management arrangements are in place, understand and manage risk.

Good governance means promoting values for the whole organisation and demonstrating

the values of good governance through behaviour: Good governance flows from a shared

ethos or culture, as well as from systems and structures. It cannot be reduced to a set of rules, or

achieved fully by compliance with a set of requirements. This spirit or ethos of good governance

can be expressed as values and demonstrated in behaviour. Good governance builds on the seven

principles for the conduct of people in public life. Known as the Nolan principles, these are:

selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership.

Good governance means taking informed, transparent decisions and managing risk:

Decision making in governance is complex and challenging. It must further the organisation’s

purpose and strategic direction and be robust in the medium and longer terms. To make such

decisions, governors must be well informed. Risk management is important to the successful

delivery of public services. An effective risk management system identifies and assesses risks,

decides on appropriate responses and then provides assurance that the chosen responses are

effective. Public service organisations face a wide range of strategic, operational and financial

risks, from both internal and external factors, which may prevent them from achieving their

objectives. Risk management is a planned and systematic approach to identifying, evaluating and

responding to risks and providing assurance that responses are effective.

Good governance means engaging stakeholders and making accountability real: Governing

bodies of public services have multiple accountabilities: to the public (citizens) and to those who

have the authority, and responsibility, to hold them to account on the public’s behalf. Real

accountability is concerned not only with reporting on or discussing actions already completed,

but also with engaging with stakeholders to understand and respond to their views as the

organisation plans and carries out its activities.

CONCEPT OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

Public administration is so broad and controversial that defining it is more complex than

describing it (Olla & Aderibigbe, 2014). The authors justify this by arguing that the boundaries

of public administration have never been clearly defined. As a result, many different

interpretations of its meaning have been proposed. However, most public administration experts

concur that it is primarily governmental (Olla & Aderibigbe, 2014). In other words, the political

context makes public administration public, not private sector administration.

In addition, separating the components of "Public Administration" into their parts can shed light

on its meaning. The term "Public” refers to government activities and actions. Administration is

derived from the Latin word “administrare”, which means to serve, lead, govern, care for, or look

after. The management of public or private affairs is what the word Administration means. As a

result, Public Administration refers to the management of public affairs” (Thapa, 2020).

Lamidi’s (2015) says that, public Administration is the machinery and integral processes by

which the government conducts its functions.” In this case, "machinery" refers to "instrument"

and "integral processes" refers to the government's main activities, which turn policies and plans

into action. In public administration, the government’s key activities are known by the acronym
POSDCORB which means “Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing, Coordinating, Reporting,

and Budgeting” (Osborne, 2010; Page, 2020; Shafritz et al., 2017; Thapa, 2020; Uchem &

Erunke, 2013). No matter which public administration concept is chosen, it is challenging to

understand it thoroughly (Uchem & Erunke, 2013).

The process by which the government either increases the effectiveness of its operations or

makes modifications to aspects of those operations that it perceives as lacking effectiveness is

referred to as public administration reform (Merriam-Webster, 2014). In contrast, according to

Ingrams et al. (2020), it is described as "deliberate modification to the structures and procedures

of public sector organizations to get them (in some sense) to run better."

The goal of reforming public administration is to guarantee that the government is effectively

managed and that citizens receive effective and efficient services. For instance, citizens use

protests to pressure their governments to address issues like inefficiency and poor services.

Inefficiency and subpar service delivery are the natural consequences of governments that are

unable to keep pace with the rest of the world by being competitive and relevant (Boyle &

MacCarthaigh, 2011; Fatemi & Behmanesh, 2012; Ingrams et al., 2020; Robinson, 2015; UNDP,

2015).

In order to maintain its position as a relevant and competitive field, public administration must

evolve to meet the requirements of its constituents. That is, the government must change to keep

up with new technologies, follow constantly changing laws and rules, protect against fraud and

corruption, and so on. So, public administration must change along with the rest of the globe

(Stefanescu, 2012).
In the process of reforming the Public Administration, it is common practice to address the

following four components: "human capital, policy-making process (Hallsworth & Rutter, 2011),

government machinery, as well as revenue and expense management systems” (UNDP, 2015).

The following is an overview of each:

Government machinery: The "machinery of government," or MOG, refers to the process

through which work is distributed and reallocated among the many departments of the

government. Changing the structure of departments, how work is divided up inside offices, and

how tasks are delegated to organizations that are not government departments (Government of

South Australia, 2019; UNDP, 2015). The term "government machinery" refers to all the

organizational structures that the government employs to provide services mandated by law

(Johnson, 2015). Regarding the changes that need to be made to the Public Administration,

Johnson (2015) states that most disagreements center on whether to make minor or major

adjustments to the machinery of government.

Human capital: Human capital is a concept that relates to an individual's knowledge, abilities,

and qualifications. These are regarded as valuable assets in the economy. According to Peter H.

Diamandis, intelligence is the most significant determinant of organizational performance. It is

the most important aspect in resolving problems and creating money, and it creates the

framework for developing human capital, which is the driving force behind any companies and

country's prosperity (Merriam-Webster, 2014). As a result, one of the most important parts of

public administration is the government's ability to carry out its objective. The need to discover

new ways to decrease the cost of human capital while also ensuring that the government

workforce has the proper balance of scale and capacity drives public administration reform. This

is because available resources are diminishing (Page, 2020; UNDP, 2015).

Policy-making process: When all of the essential stakeholders begin discussing changing the

Public Administration, how to enhance policymaking is one of the first subjects that comes up.

This is because one of the primary goals of governing in the first place is to make people's lives

better, and when people complain about the quality of services they receive, this indicates that

there is a problem. The policy-making process, also known as policy formulation, has several

processes from conception through final determination. This is addressed as part of improving

public administration (Hallsworth & Rutter, 2011; UNDP, 2015).

Revenue and expense management systems: The decline in global revenue has burdened

public sector budgets everywhere. With growing budget deficits, worldwide public debt was

projected to climb by more than $9 trillion by the year 2020. This was believed to be the most

substantial increase in government borrowing since World War II (United Nations, 2021).

Governments worldwide borrowed money from the future to lessen the impact of the Covid 19

pandemic on the current generation. Because of this, the generation of today is responsible for

ensuring that the money that has been borrowed is invested prudently. This is necessary to

guarantee that the prosperity of the current generation does not come at the expense of the

prosperity of subsequent generations. Despite the pressing and immediate nature of the current

crises, future generations cannot be deprived of prosperity (United Nations, 2021). As a result,

since governments are in serious financial trouble, their spending has become even more crucial.

Consequently, the revenue and spending control system is essential for enhancing public

administration. Public Administration

Reform's main mission is to find ways to change this system so that all planned goals may be

achieved at the lowest cost feasible when government funds are cut even further (UNDP, 2015).
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION MODELS

Public administration has been said to be that activity which is concerned with the management

of public affairs and the delivery of public services. From this, it can be deduced that public

administration is as old as society itself because wherever there is a group of people living

together, there must be some sort of organization to manage the affairs of the group (Thapa,

2020). Hence, one can argue that public administration is as old as the human race. However,

according to Vignieri (2020), public administration was officially born when Woodrow Wilson

released "The Paper of Administration" in 1887.

Several changes have occurred since then. Traditional Public Administration was succeeded by

New Public Management between 1890 and 1980. New Public Governance is a novel model in

the field of public administration that emerged around the year 2000. A discussion of the three

models of public administration follows.

Traditional Public Administration: There are many parallels between Traditional Public

Administration and Max Weber's theory of bureaucracy. A famous German sociologist and

public administration scholar, Max Weber was widely regarded as one of the most important

minds of the twentieth century. During the 19th and 20th centuries, Max Weber defined and

conceptualized bureaucracy. As a result of his work, Weberian bureaucracy has come to be

known. Traditional Public Administration is built on Weberian bureaucracy (Pfiffner, 2004;

Vignieri, 2020). It is easily distinguishable from other governments because it is a formal, strict,

and hierarchical administrative structure that political leaders run. It consists of permanent,

impartial, anonymous officials whose primary duty is protecting the public.

These officials provide equal service to the ruling parties but do not participate in policy

formulation. Instead, they are responsible for carrying out the policies laid forth by all political

leaders (Chipkin & Lipietz, 2012; Denkova et al., 2018; Robinson, 2015). The Weberian system

of Public Administration began to be criticized in the late 1970s, despite many Public

Administration scholars claiming Max Weber to be the greatest public administration thinker of

the century, if not all time (Pfiffner, 2004; Xu et al., 2015). The traditional model of Public

Administration was perceived to be safe, rational, and systematic in a consistent environment

because of its hierarchical and bureaucratic structure (Katsamunska, 2012).

However, the world was changing, and this paradigm struggled to adapt to the new and

continuously evolving environment (Wiig, 2000). The hierarchical, bureaucratic, and rigid

structure took a long time to produce results and outputs. This model caused a lot of delays. So,

there was a need to transition from a slow, rigid, and overly bureaucratic public service to one

that was faster and more flexible. The old way of running the government wasn't working

anymore, so it had to change (El-Ghalayini, 2016). Especially one that will provide quick,

innovative, and good services (Denkova et al., 2018; Robinson, 2015; Chipkin & Lipietz, 2012;

PhDessay.com, 2020)

New Public Management: In the 1980s, a new type of public administration called "New Public

Management" came about in response to the problems with "Traditional Public Administration"

(Falconer, 2010; Promberger & Rauskala, 2003; Vignieri, 2020). Traditional Public

Administration has a rigid, hierarchical, and bureaucratic structure (Strategica, 2018), which,

among other things, causes a lot of delays. New Public Management tries to fix this (Promberger

& Rauskala, 2003). While this is the fundamental purpose of Boyle and MacCarthaigh (2011)

attribute New Public Management's success to private sector practices. All other reasons for this
strategy are overwhelmed by the need to provide rapid, innovative, and good services. As a

result, New Public Management places a premium on efficiency (outcomes or outputs) rather

than processes (inputs) (Cameron, 2021; Fatemi & Behmanesh, 2012).

In light of this, New Public Management is more effective at changing the structure and

operations of government than Traditional Public Administration (Bratianu et al., 2018). It

makes them more financially viable and efficient regarding resource utilization and service

delivery, enabling them to compete with the private sector (Lapuente & Van de Walle, 2020;

Promberger & Rauskala, 2003).

The New Public Management paradigm is the predominant one in public administration today

(Kalimullah et al., 2012). In his article “Public Management for All Seasons,” Hood (1991)

introduced seven principles of New Public Management (El Ghalayini, 2016), which are based

on the premise that they will improve service delivery (Kalimullah et al., 2012; Promberger &

Rauskala, 2003).

The following paragraphs provide a summary of the principles (El-Ghalayini, 2016; Promberger

& Rauskala, 2003):

1. Proactive management with a pragmatic approach: Those in charge of providing

government services must be proactive rather than reactive i.e., they must take

preventative measures rather than just react to problems. The modern public manager

must be able to make decisions within his or her field of responsibility without being

hampered by institutional constraints. While the classic public administrator was a

passive figure who simply followed the rules of the day while exercising little to no

discretion and providing minimal monitoring, the modern public manager is a far more
 proactive professional with decision-making authority and accountability. Management is

therefore placed at the center of the government's service delivery function in New Public

Management, and skilled administrators are seen as the gateway to improved service

delivery (El-Ghalayini, 2016; Kalimullah et al., 2012; Promberger & Rauskala, 2003).

2. Clearly defined expectations and performance metrics: New Public Management imposes

strict efficiency metrics on government departments. This suggests that government

departments must pay more attention to the objectives and goals they set for themselves

before providing services. Public officials' performance evaluations offer monitoring and

oversight, encouraging them to work efficiently and accurately. Additionally, the

government must be committed to a culture of continuous improvement of service levels

and standards, particularly within the performance evaluation framework (El-Ghalayini,

2016; Kalimullah et al., 2012; Promberger & Rauskala, 2003).

3. The output controls are the focal point: The requirement to concentrate on outcomes

rather than procedures is linked to successful assessment. The government didn't care

much about what it produced in the past. Since most government discussions were about

money, the focus was on inputs (for project success) rather than outputs (for product

success). Emphasis shifted to results under the New Public Management. What is most

important to conscientious public managers is how much they can accomplish with little

resources (El-Ghalayini, 2016; Kalimullah et al., 2012; Promberger & Rauskala, 2003).

4. The public sector is divided into units: As previously stated, the New Public Management

model advocates for government disaggregation and decentralization to make

government more competitive and responsive. According to this model, smaller teams are

more beneficial because they allow for establishing more specific goals and objectives,
 allowing the government to react more efficiently and practically. Furthermore, faceless

officials are being replaced with transparent, accountable public servants who are directly

accountable to the people, promoting openness and accountability (ElGhalayini, 2016;

Kalimullah et al., 2012; Promberger & Rauskala, 2003).

5. Increased government competitiveness through price control: Countries are under

pressure to improve public service delivery while maintaining a low level of spending

growth. As a result, the government uses price control (market discipline) to promote

quality in service delivery and customer satisfaction. Through competition and

competitor rivalry, the government plans to keep prices under control (El-Ghalayini,

2016; Kalimullah et al., 2012; Promberger & Rauskala, 2003).

6. Concentrate on private sector practices: According to the New Public Management

model, the government should aim to behave much like a private sector business. The

premise is that if a government department adopts private business practices, it may

become more efficient in its delivery of services. Adopting reward programmes like those

found in private businesses, such as performance-based compensation and more flexible

working hours, is one example of what governments can do (El-Ghalayini, 2016;

Kalimullah et al., 2012; Promberger & Rauskala, 2003).

7. An increased focus on resource management and discipline: New Public Management

focuses on reducing the expense of delivering public services while increasing efficiency,

i.e., getting more done with less money.

Consequently, how the government uses the financial and human capital at its disposal is a key

component (El-Ghalayini, 2016; Kalimullah et al., 2012; Promberger & Rauskala, 2003).

Generally, New Public Management refers to implementing principles and practices from the
private sector into the public sector. Even though top officials are given greater autonomy, they

must also be held accountable for their actions as part of New Public Management.

In contrast, the transition from "Traditional Public Administration to New Public Management"

has stirred scholarly debate and produced some fascinating questions regarding whether "New

Public Management" is, in fact, a new paradigm (VyasDoorgapersad, 2011). Scholars such as

Gow and Dufour (2000) questions whether New Public Management reflects a paradigm shift.

Nonetheless, a second model was created and is described below.

New Public Governance: According to Klijn (2012), New Public Management and New Public

Governance have emerged as alternatives to Traditional Public Administration during the

previous two decades. Although they both learn and adapt to one another to some extent, they

may be considered polar opposites in managing the increasing complexity of policy processes,

implementation, and service delivery. Nonetheless, New Public Management and New

Public Governance complement one other, with some similarities (Klijn, 2012). Although it was

previously expected that "New Public Management" would replace Traditional Public

Administration as the new form of Public Administration, subsequent scholarly literature has

highlighted concerns about this approach's intra-organizational focus and inadequacies (Osborne,

2010). While New Public Management is concerned with identifying appropriate objectives and

assigning implementation to other entities, New Public Governance embraces multiple target

views and promotes inter-organizational collaboration (Klijn, 2012; Vignieri, 2020).

Xu et al. (2015) define New Public Governance as an administration model in which a pluralistic

governance body comprising the government, private sector, non-profit organizations, and a
range of social groups consults and negotiates to adapt to changing social situations. According

to Klijn (2012), the characteristics of New Public Governance are:

1. Heavy focus on the inter-organizational component of policymaking and service delivery,

as well as organizational interdependence in accomplishing policy goals and providing

services;

2. It is generally agreed that horizontal forms of steering, such as network control and meta-

governance, are superior when recruiting social actors' involvement. The purpose of these

horizontal forms of steering is to ensure that actors often exercise their veto power

(enhance support);

3. Using the knowledge of society actors to make governance and public services more

consistent, as well as making better use of information shared by different actors

(enhancing quality and innovative capacity); and

4. Intervention of social actors, stakeholders, and community organizations at an early stage

to improve the credibility of actions (enhancing democratic legitimacy).

New Public Governance is not intended to be viewed as a replacement or single viable option for

either Traditional Public Administration or New Public Management (Osborne, 2010).

Furthermore, while all three models introduced new ideas and concepts to public administration,

certain components of the previous model may be found in the present one.

GOVERNANCE IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

Stewardship refers to a personal responsibility for taking care of another person’s property or

financial affairs. Historically, stewardship was the responsibility given to household servants to

bring food and drink to a big castle’s dining hall. Stewards’ responsibilities later became taking
care of passengers’ domestic needs on a ship, train, or an airplane, or managing the services

provided to diners in a restaurant. The term continued to be used in these specific ways, but it is

still used in a more general way to refer to a responsibility to take care of something someone

does not own or to take good care of resources entrusted to you (Davis, Schoorman &

Donaldson, 2020).

In a public administration context, stewardship refers to public servants’ responsibility to use and

develop all resources, including a state’s people, its property and its financial assets in the most

economic, efficient and effective way. Stewardship also refers to keeping and safeguarding

someone else’s finances and, therefore, the use of ‘wise’ administrative practices to achieve good

governance practices. From an ethical perspective, stewardship can also be seen as a function of

government responsible for the welfare of the population, and concerned with the trust and

legitimacy with which its activities are viewed by the citizenry. It requires vision, intelligence

and influence in the practice of managing or looking after the well-being of the public

administration environment (Swilling 2023).

Stewardship theory has its roots in psychology and sociology. Davis et al. (2023) explain that “a

steward protects and maximises shareholders’ wealth through firm performance, because by so

doing, the steward’s utility functions are maximised”. From a public administration perspective,

stewards are public servants who serve the needs of citizens in the most economic, efficient and

effective manner. Stewardship theory recognises the importance of structures that empower the

stewards and offer maximum autonomy, built on trust. It stresses the position of public managers

to act more autonomously so that the shareholders’ returns are maximised. Such an approach can

minimise the costs aimed at monitoring and controlling behaviours. However, in order to protect

their reputation as decision-makers in organisations, public managers are inclined to operate the
government organisation to maximise service delivery performance as well as shareholders’

profits (the needs of citizens). This implies that a government organisation’s performance can

directly affect perceptions of public managers’ individual performance.

CHAPTER THREE
Research Methodology
3.1 Research Design

For the purpose of this study, the survey research method was used to assess the relationship

between personnel management and local government administration in Etsako West Local

Government Area of Edo State. According to Mwadime (2015), descriptive survey research

design is a method of collecting information by interviewing or administering a questionnaire to

a sample of individuals in order to properly analyse the objectives of the study.

3.2 Population of the Study

A Population is defined in summary as in structure and fine structure of group of

individuals who cannot be statistically distinguished. The population Staff in Etsako West Local

Government Area of Edo State is 80. Therefore, the population of the study is 80.

3.3 Sample size

The sample size is a term used in market research for defining the number of subjects

included in a sample size. The sample size for the study is 60. This was arrived at using

purposive sampling technique.

3.4 Sample Technique

The sampling technique for this study is the purposive sampling techniques. A purposive

sample, also referred to as a judgmental or expert sample, is a type of nonprobability sample.

The main objective of a purposive sample is to produce a sample that can be logically assumed

to be representative of the population.

3.5 Method of Data Collection

The method used for the collection of data for this study is the questionnaire method.

This method was adopted because it gives the researcher the opportunity to establish rapport

with the respondents, which could make the respondents to supply all the required information.

It also guarantees as much as possible the need for in-depth and detailed information

necessary for the actualization of the goal for which the research is conducted.

3.6 Reliability of Instrument for Data Collection

Reliability of the instrument has to do with how reliable is the instrument used for data

collection. To ensure the reliability of the instrument, the researcher, will embark on a pre-test

study by pre administering the instrument for data collection (questionnaire) to 20 selected

focused respondents in the community.

3.7 Method of Data Analysis and Discussion

According to Toluhi (2011) data analysis is usually carried out so as to establish the relationship
between and among two or more variable as well as deciding the limit of such relationship. It is a
technical process use to execute the statistical or qualitative analysis of research work.
Towards completing and forwarding the report on relationship between personnel management
and local government administration, a choice of simple statistical method and descriptive
approach with sample random techniques have been selected and applied for analysis of data in
chapter four. Statistical table and percentage ratio shall be use for the research analysis.